ML20035D875
| ML20035D875 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 11/09/1992 |
| From: | Shewmon P Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards |
| To: | Selin I, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| References | |
| ACRS-SL-0399, ACRS-SL-399, NUDOCS 9304140074 | |
| Download: ML20035D875 (7) | |
Text
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ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS
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WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 o, t
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November 9, 1992 The Honorable Ivan Selin Chairman U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555
Dear Chairman Selin:
l
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
REPORT - THREE HUNDRED AND NINETIETH MEETING OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS, OCTOBER 8-10, 1992, AND OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE i
During its 390th meeting, October 8-10,
- 1992, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards discussed several matters and completed the Reports and Memoranda as noted.
REPORTS e
Second Interim Report on the Use of the Desian Acceptance Criteria Process in the Certification of the General Electric Nuclear Enerav Advanced Boilina Water Reactor Desian (Report to Chairman Selin, dated October 16, 1992) e Proposed Branch Technical Position on Environmental Oualification of Electrical Ecuinment for License Renewal (Report to Mr.
James M.
- Taylor, Executive Director for Operations, dated October 22, 1992)
" Form and Content for a Desian Certificatio_r1 Kule" (Report to Chairman Selin, dated October 16, 1992)
Proposed Guidance for Implementation of the Maintenan'ce Rule, 30 CFR 50.65 (Report to Mr. James M.
Taylor, Executive Director for Operations, dated October 15, 1992)
Proposed Amendments to 10 CFR Part 55 on Renewal of Nuclear e
Pcwer Plant Operator Licenses and Recualification (Report to Mr. James M. Taylor, Executive Director for Operations, dated October 19, 1992)
ACRS Recommendations Concerning NRC Therrnal Hydraulic Review e
Group (Report to Mr. James M. Taylor, Executive Director for Operations, dated October 14, 1992) with limited distribution.
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2 MEMORANDA i
Memorandum to Mr. Trip B. Rothschild, Deputy Assistant General I
e Counsel / Legislative Counsel of the Office of the General Counsel, from David A. Ward, ACRS Chairman, dated October 16, l
1992, concerning a proposal on whether the Committee should be
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subject to the Commission's stock ownership restrictions.
Draft Generic Letter on the Availability and A'decuacy of l
Desian Bases Informaticn (Memorandum.for Thomas E.
- Murley, Director of Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, from Raymond F.
Fraley, Executive Director of the ACRS, dated October 14, 1992).
l t
HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY ISSUES CONSIDERED BY THE COMMITTEE I
i 1.
Boilina Water Reactor Stability i
Representatives of the NRC staff and GE briefed the members on the i
status of work on issues related to BWR core power stability, including the impact of the risk from ATWS.
The Committee prepared a report to you on this matter as noted above.
i A subcommittee meeting will be held on this matter after the staff
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has concluded its review of the ATWS-related issues and has issued i
its safety evaluation.
t 2.
Desian Acceptance criteria (DAC) l The Committee discussed SECY 92-299, which is a status report on q
the development of DACs for the ABWR certification in the areas of instrumentation and control and of control room designs.
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1 The Committee prepared a report on the matter to you as noted above.
l 3.
Environnental Oualification of Electrical Ecuipment for License Penewal Representatives of the NRC staff and NUMARC discussed the staff's a
proposed Branch Technical Position (BTP) on Environmental i
Qualification (EQ) of Electrical Equipment for License Renewal (EELR).
t I
The Committee prepared a report on the matter to the Executive Director for Operations as noted above.
a 4.
Form and Content for a Design Certification Rule I
Representatives of the NRC staff discussed their proposed f orm and content for a design certification rule in accordance with 10 CFR
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3 Part 52, Sub-part B,
which would reference a_ separate set of l
volumes, called the design control document (DCD).
l The Committee provided a report to you on this matter as noted above.
j 5.
Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants
. Representatives of the NRC staff and NUMARC discussed the staff's proposed regulatory guide on implementation of the Maintenance Rule, which is proposed to be sent out for public comment.
i A detailed schedule for the major project milestones was provided with a July 1996 date for the implementation of the Rule.
l The Committee provided a report on this matter to the Executive i
Director for Operations as noted above.
6.
Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operator Licenses and i
Reaualification I
h Representatives of the NRC staff discussed the proposed amendments to 10 CFR 55 on renewal of nuclear power plant operator licenses i
and requalification.
The amendments would revise the current requalification regulations for licensed operators by eliminating l
the requirement that they pass a requalification examination administered by the NRC at some point during the six year term of their license.
r The Committee provided a report on this matter to the Executive Director for Operations as noted above.
l 7.
Use of PRA in the Reculatory Process Representatives of the NRC staff discussed the status of activities f
and schedule of work for the NRC's PRA Working Group.
In addition, i
the staff discussed three areas of PRA applications.
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The Committee was told that a regulatory guide to define the scope required for a PRA submittal is being developed by the staff.
PRA studies will be applied to resolve severe accident issues for new plant designs.
Future meetings on these matters will be held as needed.
8.
Environmental Oualification of Safetv-Grade Digital Computer Protection and Control Systems Representatives of the NRC staff discussed the matter of I
application of sof tware-driven digital systems in nuclear plant instrumentation and control (I&C)
- systems, including-the environmental qualification research program being conducted by the
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l NRC in this area.
The Committee plans to issue a' report on this l
matter in the near future.
9.
Ipspections. Tests. Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC1
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for GE_ABWR Desian
.i Mr. Wylie reports on the status of this work noting that the NRC staff and GE are working to resolve the-issues associated with the GE ITAAC's.
The ACRS will discuss this matter as the NRC's staff i
and GE discussion progress.
10.
Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Plant (Open) i Representatives of the NRC staff and Yankee Atomic Energy Company j
briefed the Committee on the lessons learned from the events that ultimately led to the shutdown and proposed decommissioning of l
Yankee Rowe.
t This was a briefing only.
No Committee action was taken at this l
meeting as result of this briefing.
t 11.
ACRS Subcommittee Activities I
Report of ACRS Plannipa and Procedures Subcommittee Meetina on October 7, 1992 bCRS Officers i
Dr. Shewmon will complete Mr. Wards term as Chairman when he l
leaves the Committee on November 4, 1992 and Mr. Carroll will assume the duties of Vice-Chairman.
Dr. Wilkins was elected i
to the position of Member-at-Large of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee for the remainder of the year.
" Stock" Ownership by ACRS Members In response to a request from the OGC, the Committee provided i
comments to the General Counsel providing comm'ents as requested regarding stock ownership to members.
The Committee provided a memorandum to the OGC as noted above.
i ACRS Meetina Calendar for 1992 The Committee agreed to the following schedule for holding ACRS meetings for calendar year 1993:
l 393rd Meeting - January 7-9, 1993 394th Meeting - February 11-13, 1993 395th Meeting - March 11-13, 1993 396th Meeting - April 15-17, 1993 397th Meeting - May 13-15, 1993
5 398th Meeting - June 10-12, 1993 l
399th Meeting - July E-10, 1993 400th Meeting - August 5-7, 1993 401st Meeting - September 9-11, 1993 402nd Meeting - October 7-9, 1993 403rd Meeting - November 4-6, 1993 404th Meeting - December 9-11, 1993 12.
Miscellaneous Candidates for the NRC " Thermal Hydraulic". Review Groun The members discussed a request from Mr. Eric Beckjord that the Committee recommend a nominee for membership on the Thermal Hydraulic Review Group to be established, t
The members recommended several candidates for consideration in a memorandum to the Executive Director for Operations as noted above.
~
Draft Generic Letter on the Availability and Adecuacy of Design i
Bases Information The members directed Mr.
Fraley to send a Memorandum to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation noting that j
the Committee decided not to hear a briefing on the draft Generic Letter.
13.
Subcommittee Meetinos i
During the period between the September 10-12 to October 8-10, 1992 l
ACRS meetings, the following Subcommittee meetings were held:
i e
Joint Meetina of the Subcommittees on Plant License Renewal / Reliability and Ouality, September 16, 1992 The Subcommittees reviewed the staff's proposed Branch Technical Position on Equipment Qualification for Plant License Renewal.
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_J_gint Meetino of the Subcommittees on Thermal Hydraulic e
Phenomena and Core Performance, September 17, 1992 h
The Subcommittees continued their review of the issues pertaining to boiling water reactor (BWR) core power stability.
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Computers in Nuclear Power Plant Operations, September 22, 1992 The Subcommittee hosted a special international meeting with experts from Germany, France, Japan, U.K.,
Sweden and Canada about advanced developments in digital instrumentation and
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control (I&C) systems.
National experts discussed software i
design concepts including
- safety, reliability, fault-tolerance, formal methods, and verification and validation.
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Improved Licht Water Reactors, September 23, 1992 e
The Subcommittee reviewed SECY-92-287, " Form and Content for a Design Certification Rule."
Maintenance Practices and Procedures, October 6, 1992 I
e The Subcommittee reviewed the draft regulatory analysis and draft regulatory guide,
" Monitoring the Effectiveness of i
Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants," for implementation of the Maintenance Rule (10 CFR 50.65).
It also reviewed the NUMARC document 93-01, Revision 2A, " Industry Guideline for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants."
Desian Acceptance criteria, October 7, 1992 i
The Ad Hoc Subcommittee reviewed SECY-92-299, " Development of Design Acceptance Criteria (DAC) for the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) in the areas of Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) and Control Room Design."
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4 Plannina and Procedures, October 7, 1992 i
s The Subcommittee discussed proposed ACRS activities, practices and procedures for conduct of Committee business, and related i
matters.
Qualification of candidates nominated for appointment to the ACRS was also discussed.
14.
Future ACRS Activities 2
The Committee agreed to discuss the following during its 391st i
meeting, November 5-7, 1992:
i A.
Insichts from Common Mode Failure Events - Briefing by and discussion with representatives of the NRC staff regarding
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an analysis of selected common mode failure events.
B.
Analysis of the Human Factors Aspects of Operatina EveI#S -
l Briefing by and discussion with representatives of the NRC i
staff regarding on-site evaluation team work related to analyzing human factors aspects of selected operating events.
Representatives of the nuclear industry will participate, as i
appropriate.
C.
Reculatory Analysis Guidelines - Review and report on proposed Revision 2 to NUREG/BR-0058,' Regulatory Analysis Guidelines for U.S.
NRC.
Representatives of the NRC staff and the l
nuclear industry will participate, as appropriate.
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7 D.
Meetino with the Director. NRC Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeauards (NMSS) - Meeting with Director, NMSS, to' i
discuss items of mutual interest, including matters such as v
the status of NRC and industry proposals for revised security
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requirements for nuclear power plants, status of the high-level waste storage and disposal programs, and regulatory changes as a result of the incident which occurred at the GE i
Wilmington Facility.
E.
Risk-Based Regulation /Fitzpatrick Nuclear Plant IPE - Briefing by and discussion with representatives of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) regarding NYPA's views on ' risk-based regulation and the results of the Fitzpatrick Individual Plant Examination (IPE) and its relationship to the NRC Diagnostic Evaluation Team review of this plant.
Representatives of the NRC staff will participate, as appropriate.
F.
Reactor Operatina Exnerience - Briefing by and discussion with representatives of the NRC staff regarding events at operating -
nuclear power plants, including loss of high-head safety injection pumps at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant, and an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) evaluation of an incident at the LaSalle nuclear station.
Report by the cognizant Subcommittee Chairman regarding a recent incident at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan during which reactor condensate and feedwater pumps were inadvertently turned off.
Representatives of the nuclear industry (licensees) will participate, as appropriate.
G.
Risk-Based Regulation - Review and report on the NRC staff's proposal on risk-based regulation. Representatives of the NRC staff and the nuclear industry will participate, as appropriate.
H.
Prioritization of Generic Safety Issues - Review and comment on guidelines proposed by the NRC staff for prioritization of generic safety issues.
Representatives of the NRC staff and the nuclear industry will participate, as appropriate.
I.
Environmental Oualification of Safety-Grade DiQital Computer Protection and Control Systems - Discuss proposed ACRS report on the nature of the NRC research program to qualify safety-grade digital computer protection and control systems proposed for use in nuclear power plants.
Representatives of the NRC staff and the nuclear industry will participate, as appropriate.
J.
Reconciliation of ACRS Comments and Recommendations - Discuss replies from the NRC Executive Director for Operations regarding the NRC staff reaction to ACRS comments and recommendations.
Sincerely, Ie cd wm Paul Shewmon Chairman l
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